Hunt for a Reds' October: Rangers, Reds Blast Opponents

I wasn't at the Reds-Padres game yesterday, but I wish I had been. Former Red, Aaron Harang, made his first start against his old club, and it did not go well. The Reds crushed him for 7 runs on 7 hits, including 5 straight hits to start the 2nd inning. Ryan Hanigan, Chris Heisey, and Juan Francisco all hammered homers, two off of Harang. Dave Sappelt had another hit and two more RBIs, as the Reds banged out 18 hits and 15 runs to beat the Padres 15-5, despite putting in their "B" lineup. Chad Reineke, Logan Ondrusek, Bill Bray, and Jared Burton all had scoreless appearances for the Reds, as only Daniel Ray Herrera and Jordan Smith gave up runs. Burton is the most important of those pitchers, as he has not given up a run in 6 innings so far this spring. He looks like the dominant setup guy he was for awhile. Hopefully he makes the club and can help take some of the load off of Nick Masset in the 8th inning. Today, I see my last game between the Reds and the Giants. Bronson Arroyo is starting for the Reds, and Edinson Volquez is supposed to follow.

As for the Rangers game, they jumped all over A's starter Dallas Braden. You might remember Braden for throwing a perfect game on Mother's Day last year. He was far from perfect on this day. The Rangers looked like they will not miss a beat this year, with a solid offense and very good pitching. They were missing All Star 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre, but still had a solid offense, led by stars Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz, and Elvis Andrus. The pitching was also impressive, led by young lefty Derek Holland and closer turning starter Neftali Feliz. Instead of going more in depth to this game, I'll leave you with some pictures.